Hall of Shame - Searching for Bigfoot / Tom Biscardi

Profile:Searching for Bigfoot, Inc. is a Nevada based corporation who's website premise was to search out for Bigfoot and facilitate a live capture.Event That Warranted Investigation: It's founder and CEO, self proclaimed, "world renowned" Bigfoot hunter Tom Biscardi, in 2005, (while CEO of a now defunct organization called "The Great American Bigfoot Search") shortly after setting up a subscription based web cam service in Happy Camp, California claimed there was a Bigfoot capture in Stagecoach, Nevada and openly announced and spoke freely of it on nationally syndicated program,Coast to Coast AM.Biscardi, when asked about the alleged creature's gender, and some other information, freely answered it and stated, "we have veterinarians looking at it now." He also stated that he would eventually provide the subscription web service to observe the creature. It turned out all to be a hoax, with Biscardi declaring for the first time, he had been duped. When on Coast to Coast again to reveal he had been duped, the host, George Nhouri, demanded that Biscardi refund the countless people that had most likely subscribed to the service because of the announcement of the phony Bigfoot capture.

"Bigfoot Lives" (2006)

Biscardi, in 2006 began producing a film entitled, "Bigfoot Lives," which the writer appeared in for about 10 seconds or so. The film itself posed a lot of interesting discoveries.

1. The HandThe film depicts a "Hand of Unknown Origin," which was DNA tested. Biscardi claimed that, verbally, the test confirmed, "it wasn't in the system, " but later claimed cover up when they issued the written report. Biscardi also claimed the event was recorded.

Report issued to Biscardi.

In reality if you listen to the recording, what was actually stated that they could not identify the DNA, and not being in the system was one of the reasons, as well as the sample being degraded as well.This is what was stated by the institute verbally:

"That we, the DNA Diagnostics Center, was unable to obtain any DNA from the sample, um...because it was not either human or primate, it could be because the samples were unrecognized by the quantitative methods, or it may be too degraded for us to obtain." Source: Searching for Bigfoot Recording

Could this be a misunderstanding? No. Biscardi and SFBI heard the same thing we all did yet, they continue to sell the story of how there was a cover up.

As you will soon see, the story of confusing the public with changing stories regarding DNA is a method they, more specifically Biscardi, will play again.The "Hand" is regarded now by most anthropologists as a decomposed bear paw.

2. The Leg

If we put aside the "Leg or Foot of Unknown Origin." If this was made public, it was done in the most subtle of ways, but I've never seen it publicly posted on the SFBI website, but the DNA of the leg came back belonging to a beaver.

3. The Skeleton

Finally the last controversy in "Bigfoot Lives" was that of a skeleton unearthed allegedly in Texas, but after I embedded myself with the team, I learned that it was in reality found in Oklahoma.

The skeleton was determined to be Homo Erectus, but SFBI, specifically "Javabob" Robert Schmaltzbach, the main author of the SFBI site, again went on to claim it was a skeleton of something unknown.

Article on SFBI's website.

Yet the actual DNA report on the SFBI site, being long and drawn out specifically stated:

"Therefore it can be concluded with a high degree of confidence that Homo Erectus DNA has been recovered and that this is not some kind of peculiar contamination." Source: DNA Report on the "Skeletal Finding," SFBI website.

Biscardi's origins...

Biscardi's origins in the Bigfoot research field date back to the late sixties where he met and was mentored by Ivan Marx. A man who was allegedly caught trying to obtain $25,000 from well known researcher Peter Byrne. The attempt was covered by the Walla-Walla Union Bulletin on April 19th, 1971.

SFBI Ringmaster:
Tom Biscardi

The Article and one of Marx's "Sasquatch" pictures.

Georgia Body Hoax...

Much of the information about Biscardi's operations and the Georgia Body Hoax is featured in my first book, "50 Large."

The meat and potatoes to sum it up is Biscardi made a back room deal with Rick Dyer, knowing it was a hoax, in an attempt to crate a bogus autopsy video, ala the "Alien Autopsy Video" of the early 90's.

Biscardi claimed to have, "felt it, touched it, smelled it."

He claims to have done that on a Saturday in Forest Park, Georgia.

Picture Saturday morning.

Only problem is we know the Bigfoot is fake and given the square footage of the freezer it wouldn't have been frozen solid for a few days.

The freezer receipt proves Biscardi saw what was in the freezer.

This receipt, for the Friday night previous, and since the picture above was taken on Saturday morning, there is no wiggle room for Biscardi as to have not seen what was really in the freezer.

According to both Dyer and Whitton, they were having trouble so they dumped ice into the freezer.

The next day Biscardi would tell them to dump it and freeze the "body" in layers (or levels)

The picture of the three in front of the freezer taken Saturday night corroborates the story.

Not frozen just "on the rocks."

Media Dramatics...

1. The Coast 2 Coast Debacle (2005)

Biscardi sets up a web cam service in Happy Camp, California, and later on an appearance on C2C Radio with George Noory, he claims they have a live captured Bigfoot.

He then claims his cameras will be on the captured Bigfoot, causing a surge in his live cam subscriptions.

Later claims he was duped (as he will claim 3 years later in 2008). Noory furious with Biscardi makes him promise to refund subscribers and is banned from C2C.

Shortly thereafter he is booted from the Great American Bigfoot Organization and would months later reemerge to form Searching for Bigfoot.

2. The Lizard Man (2007)Biscardi's constantly over dramatized events as they occurred as such with the Bishopville, NC Lizard-Man which he openly declared a primate, yet he made that statement after I had examined the vehicle made two determinations,.One that it was made by a quadruped (an animal on four legs) and two the teeth were canine in nature, (neither of which were are conducive to a "Lizard Man") and more condemning of his opportunity to lie to the public via sensationalism, after I had told him.

Picture showing the canine nature of the bites on the client's van. (Steve Kulls photo)

3. The Catskills (2008)Another example was that to a local New York newspaper that events in Catskill, NY were heating up. I expressed doubt, over the number of witness events in Catskill by the witnesses.

After three nights of investigations, nothing turned up. (A follow up again was done in 2010 by a researcher and yielded no results.)

His own team observed a large raccoon being responsible for one of he reported behaviors. Yet this did not stop Biscardi claiming events were mounting up in the area to the news media.

His claims were later bolstered by a hoaxer, whom the author and local researcher Ted Petricini later debunked.

4. Bigfoot Black Friday (2008)

Perhaps the greatest Biscardi embarrassment of all as after willingly participates in a hoax with the notorious Rick Dyer,, calls a press conference which garners international media attention.

The press conference in Palo Alto, California, just miles from Biscardi's home was later dubbed as "Bigfoot Black Friday."

The SFBI Business Plan or Sham?

"The CEO was involved in the filming of the original Bigfoot movie in 1973." - Executive Summary, Page 4, "Management"

Biscardi claims that he was the technical consultant to the breakthrough cult classic docu-drama, "The Legend of Boggy Creek." In reality Biscardi was not listed on any of the credits either at the end of the movie and any future references to such.

The only consultant for the movie was the legendary J.E. "Smokey" Crabtree, a Fouke, Arkansas resident with many encounters with the Fouke Monster as well as having being "in the know" of residents encounters over many years.

DNA testing cannot determine size, furthermore as we have seen earlier the hand DNA report came back as inconclusive because the DNA was too degraded.

The Skeleton WAS classified as Homo Erectus as earlier shown.

Skeleton Controversy:

Photo of the buried skeleton.

When the skeleton was discovered, it created a controversy in so much that the possibility of the disturbing a Native American gravesite. In response Searching for Bigfoot issued this statement:

Statement found on SFBI website.

"We did not open this site nor did we disturb it....We recovered only one artifact that we brought back and has been turned over to a Professor at Stanford University."-Statement on SFBI Website regarding skeleton.

This poses the question, if they did not disturb it, why is it in their inventory? This poses the next question, which one is the lie?

Shady Dealings?

Fact is, SFBI was going broke. By May of 2008 they were to have both museums up and running, and was supposed to be generating substantial income.Biscardi was also looking to resell a dinosaur he was under contract to buy, for $5 million. Biscardi boasted he was offered $6 million for it, however he wanted to hold out for a bigger offer. Biscardi told everyone, that he was under contract to sell the dinosaur and offered a reward for someone who can find a buyer.

SFBI share split.

In reality, Biscardi was going to sell it before he bought it, which he never did.

As SFBI was remaining in business, it was hemorrhaging cash without a big source of income somewhere after getting almost half a million from investors since 2006. Money had to come from somewhere.

Biscardi's main source of capital to run Searching for Bigfoot, Inc. at the time, came from their CFO, David Nilsen. In May 2008, just 2 months prior to Biscardi's involvement in the hoax, Nilsen filed bankruptcy cutting off Biscardi's money supply.

Nilsen 18 months later would be indicted on 31 counts of fraud and pled guilty in a plea bargain in Federal District Court. He sits now in federal prison.

An investor alert to potential folks looking at putting their money into SFBI. Why would the SFBI Tom Biscardi, start a corporation in Nevada, listed as a FOREIGN Corporation, (which allows the ability to have offshore accounts, not being under the jurisdiction of the Feds or the IRS) with David Nilsen AFTER his indictment? (Nilsen was indicted by Federal Grand Jury in September, 2009.)

Company is now defunct since Nilsen's incarceration.

Morgan Matthews, "Shooting Bigfoot" debacle​

A movie described as an investigation into the"the obsessive, hoax-filled cult of Sasquatch devotees."​

In actuality I believe, in my opinion, Matthews picked the worst of what the research field has to show at least in 2 of the 3 picks, that being serial hoaxer Rick Dyer and of course Tom Biscardi. The video shows the quick temper of Biscardi including several times talking mean to his girlfriend Joan and to team member Chico. In another documentary, "Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie," which is about the late Dallas Gilbert and his partner Wayne Burton, (and was the 3rd pick in Matthews film), Biscardi is shown being mean to Dallas and Wayne while out in the field. After one of his invitees to a site who was following him, gets in a pretty bad car wreck, delaying their journey, Matthew paints Biscardi to be more worried about his linguine and clams dinner than for the welfare of thepoor bastard who got into the wreck.

The film did provide some humor, when Biscardi, angry about Matthews talking to Dyer and Whitton about the 2008 Bigfoot in a Freezer hoax, (In my opinion, he gets very angry when he can't control the narrative.) yells at his girlfriend and storms away from Matthews, "Joan, get me a Snapple!"

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